Having a Dubois tell them about a change in perspective felt familiar. In Danny’s case it had been about dating Marissa—ostensibly about dating Rachel, but Holland had felt his point was transparently about Marissa. Holland didn’t know what could have prompted such a change in Claudia, but they were curious. Unfortunately, they weren’t close enough with Claudia to press for an answer, as they had with Danny.

Claudia, Holland noticed with concern, seemed to be on the verge of tears, but she wiped away the one that had fallen before Holland could offer her a tissue. Holland would have agreed to help Claudia do her makeup regardless of her motivations in asking, but hearing her reasoning made them even more sympathetic to the cause.

The merits of controlling one’s appearance to feel stronger was familiar to Holland. They had started presenting as nonbinary before coming to RMI, and started dyeing their hair around the same time. Retrospectively, that seemed like a tactical decision on their parents’ part. Holland had wanted to change their hair color from its natural, boring brown for what (at that age) felt like an eternity, and right before they moved schools was a good time to do so. Holland’s new classmates had been more interested in blue hair than gender variance, so if their parents had allowed the hair dye as a strategic move, it had worked. They hadn’t started wearing makeup until their second year at RMI, though, mostly as a distraction from puberty. Since then, they had worn makeup most days. They always felt most confident and secure when they had contoured cheekbones that could cut through glass and drawn eyeliner wings that needed Federal Aviation Administration clearance. If that feeling was what Claudia was after, Holland could understand why.

“Looking good makes me feel stronger too. I think we can make that happen,” Holland said encouragingly. They glanced over the makeup they had assembled in neat groupings. “I’ve been told I stand out,” they added, quoting Dade, “so we can manage not being overlooked.” Holland was interested to know who Claudia felt had been overlooking her. The Cetus was perhaps well-described as being a wallflower. She wasn’t participating in any clubs as far as Holland knew, but that was her choice. While she wasn’t a social butterfly, she did seem to already be in a relationship, so it felt unlikely that she was trying to impress a boy.

Holland picked up a makeup sponge and started applying Claudia’s foundation. “What happened this year that was so terrible?” they asked, working outward from the center of her face.

From one of Marley’s many visits to their dorm for advice—the visit in question having been at an ungodly hour in the morning, even for Holland’s typical schedule of early rising—Holland knew that she and Claudia had argued about dating Connor. The younger years had apparently been having enough drama of their own to rival the sixth year class. Marley had told Claudia that she had a crush on Connor, and then Claudia had started dating Connor without telling Marley, and then Connor had accepted a date with Marley even though he was dating Claudia. Marley had come back to Holland’s room a few days later to update them that she had made up with Claudia but that Connor was a mean liar and an egghead, among other insults. The drama seemed resolved at this point (Marley’s most recent visit had been to talk about Teal Rosse and ask for outfit advice for a date), but the argument could have contributed to Claudia having a bad year.

Progressing with quick, light steps through the theatre, Claudia soon arrived to find Holland waiting for her. Instantly they commented on her appearance, which was her main focus for the day, so... more

Holland seemed to understand her decision, if not the reasons behind it. Reassured that her idea wasn’t entirely ridiculous after all, Claudia began to relax as Holland started to apply foundation.... more

Today, Holland was really feeling that double eyeliner was the way to go. They weren’t there yet, but black and turquoise would look really nice with Claudia’s outfit. The third-year seemed to prefer ... more

(OOC: To accommodate recent, relevant additions to the Drew/Connor thread in Cetus - which occurred chronologically before this theater thread - please assume that in her last post here, Claudia also ... more

Ah, yes. Holland was very aware that Marley was going on a date. They were aware because when they’d gotten back to Lyra after Ancient Runes one day, Marley had been waiting outside their door. She... more

“Why does that mean you and Marley can’t be friends anymore?” Holland asked. As often happened when someone questioned her about her beliefs, Claudia experienced an instinctive reaction, rather than... more

Holland, admittedly, had had similar thoughts related to Marley’s date with Teal. The younger Lyra had said that she liked Teal but wasn’t sure whether she like-liked her, but regardless that boys... more

When Holland talked, they never sounded condescending or patronizing, even when they were telling Claudia something new (as happened often, because they mostly talked about make-up, and Claudia had... more

Holland hadn’t meant to break Claudia by introducing her to the concept of plurisexuality, but it seemed for a moment that they had. How could Claudia be a teenager and not know that people could be... more

Closing her eyes and saying nothing while Holland continued to apply her make-up was very soothing for Claudia. It had been an especially tumultuous second part of the year, and perhaps she’d been... more

“It might,” Holland agreed. There was some risk of pain attached to doing most things, and that didn’t make those things not worth doing. Marley’s intentions weren’t to hurt Teal; Holland had always... more

Risk was a very personal concept. Claudia was taking a risk today with her statement dress and make up, but the risk was low: most people probably wouldn’t notice the change in her look, and of the... more

Holland chose the red lipstick—if you wanted to make a statement, why speak quietly?—and offered it to Claudia to apply. She had the lighted wall-mounted mirror to use in guiding her application of... more